100 Years
by cullencraver
Summary: One hundred years, this spring.  With a pack of rowdy, adolescent werewolves, and a young, curious newborn under her belt, can Bella Swan face the 100 year anniversary of her transformation?
1. The beginning

I'm going to give you the first three chapters as a taste, to get you interested! Please, bear with me on this first chapter, it's very vague. It's a baby I've been nursing for over a year and I can't bring myself to change anything about it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Please review after you read!

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><p>I felt like Don Corleone. Except instead of having someone murdered on the Jones Beach Causeway, I was settling for the Quillayute one instead. And rather than having someone murdered, I was having dinner being caught.<p>

I felt like a queen bee lounging on her throne, waiting for her worker bees to scurry home with dinner. _He_ seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because a derisive laugh escaped his lips.

I tried to hide my smugness but my attempts were feeble and so I gave up, suddenly standing and stalking out of the house, slamming the door to shut his hysterics out. I glowered up at the monochromatic sky, as if it were mocking me, too.

"I know I asked for this, so you don't need to rub it in," I declared to the sky.

My ears perked, even over his continued euphoric guffaws that issued from the house. They had arrived. I smirked to myself and ran off to meet them.

When I stopped, a full-grown male elk lay at my feet, not yet dead. His heart still beat courageously, but the beast was unconscious. I smiled.

"Well done, boys," I announced to my comrades.

I focused on the slowing heart rate of the animal before me. It wasn't much, but, _Waste not_.

I threw myself forward and sunk my teeth into the hairy, permeable flesh of the elk; feeling, immediately, the rush of blood, spilling out around the wound until I drew in, sucking up the liquid that puddled over the surface of the hole I'd created. As the blood began to gush quicker than I was drinking, I sucked harder, drawing in the sustenance and imagining myself one with the animal.

_The sun was bright, shining high above like it had the last time I was in this place. The vision before me seemed unreal, like I'd dreamed it all up the first time and was now revisiting it._

_But as I stepped forward once, twice, three times slowly, inhaling deeply the floral scent of the swaying grasses around me, I knew it was real._

_For a second I could imagine the warmth from the sun having some kind of effect on my exposed skin, numbing the pain. But then everything went absolutely still, and the silence was no longer that of a peaceful meadow, but of a sanctuary disrupted by an intruder._

_I opened my eyes and looked up to find a handsome male figure with gloriously gem-bright eyes locked on me. His features were striking and inviting, handsome, chiseled._

Maybe that's where I got the Godfather reference from. The man was handsome, like a young Al Pacino portraying Michael Corleone.

_But dangerous._

_I knew this was a bad idea. I knew that before I came here. But things were set in motion, things you couldn't prevent once they'd begun._

"_Well this is a pleasant surprise," the man wondered aloud._

The beast shook greatly for a second, interrupting my flow of thoughts as the flow of blood decreased dramatically. As the last drops of life drew from the animal, its body lay still, wasted. There was no hope left for it.

I sighed, reflecting on death. Oh how, in its presence, I felt more immortal than ever.

A high-pitched, yet brief screeching sound interrupted my miserly ponderings, and I tore myself away from the carcass.

"Cornelia," I sighed.

I ran for no longer than a moment and entered a small clearing among the trees to find myself before a fight. If not for a collection of recently fallen tree trunks, I'd have not known this was a dense section of forest _before_ the fight broke out.

"Cornelia, stop this immediately," I said, putting all my power in to my voice. They did not stop. I groaned, then put myself in the middle of the fight, pushing the two combatants apart.

"Not _now_," Cornelia grunted. "I hardly got a pass at him." She continued trying to make swipes at her battle partner around me, but I stood firm. She finally gave up her counter attack to receive the berating she knew was inevitable.

I turned to the instigator first. "Go," I said simply. He complied, shaking his head and then leaping past the debris he left behind to join the others closer to home.

"Why did you stop me? You always tell me to learn to fend for myself and yet when I get a chance to you stop me!"

"Yes I've told you to fend for yourself, not _fight_ for yourself," I said sternly. "Don't misconstrue my words."

"But –" she began to fight me. I could tell in her eyes she wouldn't have a reasonable argument so I cut her off.

"Don't," I reprimanded her. "It's not worth the fight between us now. You know how much work there is to be done."

Cornelia hung her head. "Yes, Maker."

I groaned exasperatedly. "Do _not_ call me 'Maker'! I am tired of him convincing you that you should!"

She hid a smirk and I stalked past her, infuriated.

_You did this to yourself_, I reminded myself. _Pointing fingers only hides the _real _problem._

Focusing, I ran off back to the nest. I had a clan to tame and civilize by first period, Monday morning.


	2. Second chapter

Please, let me know how I'm doing!

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><p>Like I'd predicted, the boys were all unbearable when I got home. Cornelia walked through the door seconds after me, avoiding their eyes, surely embarrassed she wasn't allowed to fight.<p>

I tried not to think of the additional problems I had with her character, let alone her cooperation with the boys.

"Monday is a pivotal day for us," I began, my voice drawing their attentions and extinguishing conversation. "You all know what you have to do and how well you have to do it. Personally, I don't think we're ready. Regardless, we're committed and will have to face this head on."

"What is this, the _army_? We're not going into a warfront, Bella, we're joining _Forks High School_."

I glowered at the interruption. "Despite how easy it sounds, we have an image to maintain." They got restless again, tired of listening to my constant lecture.

_I bet Carlisle never had this problem,_ I thought.

"_Laurent," I smiled, familiarity warming the original shock of my tone of voice. "It's so good to see you."_

_I wasn't sure, but I felt like he quietly responded, "I could say the same." Regardless of whether he did or not, we stood in silence for a minute._

"_Interesting," he finally said. "I couldn't find the Cullen clan anywhere around. I'd think Carlisle would have taken better care of his – _pets_."_

_I grimaced, trying to appease him. Panic ran through every nerve of my body. _This is wrong, _I thought._

_A low murmur issued from my companion. Something along the lines of, "And I thought she wasn't expendable …."_

"_So where is the clan, then?" he asked, innocent, knowing something was wrong – for me. "Did they leave you behind? And I thought they _loved_ you."_

My entire body shook with anger and I let out a roar of fury. The entire nest froze before me, then burst out with laughter.

"Looks like Bella's trying to shift!" Paul jeered. "You have to be about two hundred degrees warmer than that to even try, Bells!"

I shot him a look of death, no where near the mood for taunting. The constant flashbacks, interrupting my peace of mind, had been getting worse lately. Not something I'd share with the pack, and especially not with Cornelia.

"Settle down, guys. Let's just get this over with," Jacob warned the pack, his Alpha voice sliding in to effect.

I glared at him quickly, not wanting to thank him and show weakness. I was a vampire, I could do this.

The week went smoothly, though. Much to my surprise. The few guys from the pack – Paul, Jacob, and Seth – who agreed to the "Cultural Exchange Program" between La Push and Forks Highs, seemed to have a smooth week. The ones who stayed behind – Embry, Quil, Jared – kept up our reputation at the school here on the rez.

This weekend, however, my entire focus was on Cornelia. Her self-control was satisfactory. She had grown up (not literally) around the pack and never once killed any of them, although she fought with them incessantly. But high school was an entirely different story. Being thrown into a room of thirty blood bags who actually smelt _good_, rather than like they were rolling in the dirt all day, was a whole new ballpark.


	3. Assimilation

Please, review when you're done!

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><p>Monday, September 16th. The sun hung low in the sky, obscured by heavy amounts of cloud. I smiled at it, then took a deep breath.<p>

The stench of dog assailed my nostrils, mixed with the mild scents of nearby squirrels. I gulped down the smells like a human trying to dry-swallow an inch-long liquigel.

The screen door opened noisily and I heard her foot steps behind me, across the miniscule porch and down the drive until she was a couple feet behind me. I stood in silence, forcing myself to remember the burning feeling I inflicted on myself.

"I'm ready," she cut the silence perkily. Sometimes I didn't think Cornelia took this as seriously as I wished her to. When I turned around and saw her outfit, I realized I underestimated my doubts.

"What is _that_?"

"What?"

"Your outfit!"

She shrugged. "Paul helped me pick it out."

"Yeah, no shit he did!" That boy was over her too much for comfort. One hundred years with these numbskulls and their natural aroma still sent my stomach flipping in knots. Cornelia, however, didn't seem to mind.

"He liked it," she said, looking down, embarrassed.

I spared her of this awkward conversation. "Please, change. You really can't wear that to school."

"How would you know? It's your first day, too! You don't know what the kids are like!"

I gave her a look that clearly said _Go_ and she ran back inside. I forget, sometimes, how much I've kept from Cornelia. Perhaps that's why she acted so spoiled and sheltered. As far as Cornelia was concerned, I woke up with a brand new conscious, unaware of how I was turned and with random inspiration to hunt animals. Sometimes I wish the true explanation was that simple.

She returned from the house much more properly dressed, though still less-conservatively.

"Can we please just go now?" she begged. I half-frowned, wondering how much trouble she'd get herself into.

"Just recite to me once more the-"

"We're sisters. Our last name is Swan. I'm in tenth grade, you're in eleventh. We moved from Phoenix, Arizona. If people ask about my parents or my house I get really awkward and don't want to talk about it; start speculation that we're from a broken home."

"And the pack?"

"We don't know them but I soon learn you're 'quite _smitten_' with that James? Jared? Jacob kid."

"Try not to quote my directions. We've practiced lying, you can do better than that."

"Yeah, when I'm not talking to _you_. I'm gonna go now," she said warningly, taking a step towards the forest.

"We're not running, Cornelia. How would you explain getting to school?"

She didn't seem to have thought of that.

"We're going to take Jake's car, the Rabbit."

"But it's so _slow_."

"We. Cannot. Run. To school."

Cornelia glared at me for a short second then stormed off to the car and sat impatiently in the passenger seat. I controlled my anger, then ran to the car and drove as fast as possible to school. Cornelia watched the sky lighten through the back window and sighed; _she_ liked the night.

"Welcome, girls, how may I help you?" a perky, thirty-year-old woman asked when we entered. She was very neat and put-together – a complete 360 from her predecessor.

"Hi, my name is Isabella Swan, and this-" I began hesitantly, like I were nervous.

"Ah, Isabella and Cornelia!" she trilled, clapping her hands together. "Forks High has been waiting for you!"

She scooted her chair to grab a file from a cabinet to her left. The second her eyes were off us, Cornelia caught my attention and rolled her eyes dramatically, pretending to gag. I smirked and elbowed her in the ribs.

The sickly sweet woman, who finally introduced herself as Mrs. Langely, gave us our respective schedules and wished us luck. She naïvely forgot to show us how to get to our classes, but maybe it was just Mrs. Cope's presence I preferred.

Pretending I'd scoped out the school previous to our arrival, rather than having had already attended it, I quickly taught Cornelia the routes to her classes. We leaned against the wall of the office – in between it and another building for administrative use – while the students arrived and the parking lot filled.

"Deep breath," I muttered to her under my breath. "Just practice, while we still have a chance to go."

She nodded and her eyes remained wide with slight fear. She wanted more than anything to go to school, to really see humans in their natural state, but knew that she wasn't one hundred percent ready yet.

Her expression tightened slightly as the burn enveloped her throat. "I can do this," she coughed, nodding to herself.

"If you need me, you have the cell phone I gave you, right?" She slipped the tiny silver device out of her pocket, making sure. "Text me if there's any problem at all. And remember: if you have to go out, ask to go to the bathroom or the nurse. Keep your façade at _all_ times."

"Don't drop the act until you're inside the house," she quoted me.

I smiled, feeling bad for the tyrant I was sometimes.

"You can do this." I smiled encouragingly. "_We_ can do this," I corrected myself.

After splitting from Cornelia, I let my nervousness show. I felt jittery inside and could make it all disappear from my expression, but I was acting for a living. I had to reveal what I felt, for once. Humans liked seeing what each other felt.

First period, English, was tolerable. I enjoyed literature, even though I'd read everything on the syllabus more than once in each life. History was a repetitive nightmare, as was math after it. However, math managed to rank worse than history when I made my first friend.

A boy sitting in the seat in front of me was twitching the whole time. His leg kept tapping up and down on the linoleum floor, keeping the world's worst rhythm. I thought he might have to pee and wondered why he didn't ask to be excused. It bothered me the entire class and claimed my focus.

Finally when the bell rang, the kid relaxed, as did I. I grabbed all my books slowly, playing up my human façade, when I noticed the boy stiffened, slightly.

He was preparing himself for something; I sped myself up. Throwing my books with their perfect, word-for-word notes in to my tote bag, I intended to head straight for the door, but a nervous stutter of a voice stopped me.

"H-hey, Is-s-sabella?" The blond metronome finally worked up his courage.

I smiled nervously. "Hi," I said. I finally wished I could employ the power of my blush, when I no longer had it.

He was slightly bolstered by noticing I was just as nervous. He took a deep breath. "Could I walk you to your next class? I'm sure you need help finding it."

I was about to shoot him down with an "Actually, I-" but decided against it. _I_ wouldn't be part of an alienated group of strange teenagers who doesn't socialize. I smiled warmly, gratefully. "Sure."

We left the room with many stares following us. All amazed that this boy worked up the courage to talk to the beautiful new girl.

"So how's your first day so far, Isabella?" he asked.

"Bella," I corrected him. He raised an eyebrow. "I prefer Bella."

He smiled. "Bella it is. My name is Austin, Austin Newton."

I tried to stifle a laugh but ended up snorting. "I'm sorry," I said, making my eyes pleading. "It's just, that's a mouthful, Austin. Austin-" _Newton_!


	4. Chapter Four

Please, review! Let me know if you have any questions or feedback!

**break**

Tuesday, January 23rd.

Four months went by surprisingly smooth, in comparison to what I had expected. Cornelia didn't kill anyone on her first day, and melted in surprisingly well with all the sophomores. At lunch time, I would watch her sitting with all her girl friends and suitors, loving every minute of it.

I'd also see Paul, sitting at the seniors' table, eyeing the boys that got too close, making a mental hit list.

I sat with Jacob and Seth and the friends they had made the week before I came to school. We had to pretend we didn't know the pack until we met them, but I automatically clung to Jacob after meeting _Austin_ Newton.

He had all the redeeming qualities of his great-grandfather, which not only created a natural aversion towards him, but also spooked me out more than I'd expected. _I went on a date with your _great-grandfather_, _I'd think disgustedly when he talked to me. Therefore, to get him off my back, Jacob and I developed love at first sight and were dating before Columbus Day.

At times, it was awkward. But wasn't our relationship always? From before I was changed the lines were extremely blurred.

Now, at lunch, we'd sit holding hands, sometimes staring into each other's eyes. Some of those times I really was pondering the bizarre relationship I had with Jacob; others, we were communicating in such low voices that no human would notice.

"But doesn't he just _smell_?" Cornelia asked me once, while hunting.

I shrugged. "Well it keeps my head clear, especially in the cafeteria."

"But you've _kissed_ him!"

I turned on her, my expression wild. "What makes you say that?"

She shrunk slightly in my murderous shadow. "P-Paul mentioned it … once …."

I tried to shake it off. "That was before."

"Before what?"

I sighed. "When I was still human."

Her mouth fell out in a large O. "You remember then?"

I didn't like to tell Cornelia things like this because she'd ask. I didn't like to tell her I remembered. I didn't want to tell her I couldn't forget.

_I shrugged. "They check in. _Often_." I'd added that last bit to try and implicate a warning, but their current absence seemed the most important to him._

"_Their smell was faint," he commented, catching my fault._

_I didn't respond, I didn't want to be caught up in my lies._

"_So if they really _did_ care about you, they wouldn't leave you alone, unprotected, like this, now would they?" he asked in mock disappointment. He paced around unevenly, but I noticed each step brought him closer._

_I'm sure _they_ cared about me … _he_ was a different story._

"Bella!" Cornelia yelled.

"Huh?" I shook my head to break out of my reverie. The flashbacks were more constant lately.

"I asked you what I should do."

"About what?"

She groaned, frustrated I wasn't listening. "I said my friends invited me out on Friday night and I told them I'd have to ask. But what should I do? I want to hang out with them, but …."

But relationships with humans were fragile. It was the one thing I drilled in to her head, almost more than don't eat people. It was one thing I wanted her to avoid above everything else.

Hell, she could kill someone, go ahead. As long as she didn't break their heart, leave them for death, without realizing they'd have to work for it.

_I took a noticeable step backwards and somehow forced a blush to bloom on my cheeks. I wanted to look scared. He took a step just as large towards me, slowly dropping all pretenses. I thought I saw him lick his lips._

"_I'm sorry Bella, you're truly …" he cut off his sentence, finishing it wordlessly by looking me up and down approvingly. "But in spite of that, your blood, it …" he left his sentence hanging again, knowing I knew what he meant._

_I was finally still with fear, realizing what I was up to. It was dangerous, reckless, "_Run, Bella."

_My eyes widened slightly but my expression was frozen. It was _him_ again. His beautiful voice, resonating throughout my head. Like he were next to me. But he wasn't. He was far, far away …._

"They're here!" a girl's voice trilled, catching the attention of the entire table. Convulsively, we all looked up towards the cafeteria doors. Beyond them, I heard the footsteps of six people approaching.

I was curious who we were all waiting for. When I caught the tempo of their steps I counted, _3 … 2 … 1 …_

The doors swung open and if I were human I'd have fainted. But since I was made of something more, something stronger, I froze. My mind went blank and my vision tunneled, focusing on one spot in the entire cafeteria.

Vaguely, in the back of my mind, I heard Jake and Seth's breathing hike up, and Jake exhaled in fury. "_Him._"


	5. The New Cullen

"Babe, babe you have to look at me. Babe, please," Jacob's low murmurs were anxious as they tried to rock me out of my stupor.

He grabbed my hand and held it consolingly in both his own. The warmth that flooded from his flesh helped catch my attention. I slowly turned my face to him, at a human pace, and stared in to his eyes.

I don't know what he saw there, in my eyes, but I'm sure they were fathoms deep.

Seth already had his phone out, texting. He told Cornelia to get out as soon as possible, play sick.

My eyes were still locked with Jacob's, but in my peripherals I saw Cornelia rise, shaking off a boy who offered to accompany her, and left out a side door close to her table. I heard her go off towards Jacob's car.

"Want to take a walk?" Jacob asked, cocking his head to the side like he was trying to convey am insinuative message. I knew what he was saying in his eyes. _I'll help you get away._

I hoped Paul caught sight of them, too. I hoped he'd control his thoughts. None of us were safe anymore. We'd have to leave, after just having came.

Jacob stood up and walked around the table, waiting for me to do the same. He wrapped himself tight around me as we walked out of the cafeteria, through the main doors. He was sure to block my body as we passed by their line of view.

"Baby," he said to me, when we got outside. He was smart, careful not to say my name because he knew _they'd_ hear. I looked up at him. "How far?" he asked, motioning towards his ear.

I shrugged. "The same," I replied. He mentally calculated how far we were to see if we were in hearing distance. I nodded, then pointed to the woods.

"That's a good spot," I smiled. Even if they did hear, us being two _strangers_ to the new family in Forks, they would think we were just a couple hyped up on fleeting love.

I could hear that no one was nearby, but we moved at a human pace anyway. When we passed Jacob's car in the parking lot I motioned for Cornelia to join us. Her eyes were frightful.

When we were a quarter of a mile in to the woods I stopped. It was far enough; our voices would not be overheard.

"What's going on?" Cornelia asked.

I couldn't speak. Speech would acknowledge the finality of the verdict.

"They're back," Jacob grumbled. Yup, it was final. My world was spiraling down.

"Who's back?" Cornelia asked innocently. As I said before, she knew nothing of my former life.

Jacob's eyes were trained on me the whole time. "We'll have to be careful," he decided, all my leadership skills gone for the moment. "Even our thoughts, we'll-"

I gasped aloud. "Jacob quick think of something! Think of the time in my kitchen, when we-" I cut my sentence short, not wanting to finish it. The last word hung in the air. _Kissed_.

But now wasn't a time to think about that. Now was a time to not think. Comprehension dawned on his face and his expression turned suddenly concentrated. He was thinking solely on that one time.

"Cornelia, go home. Take the car and drive straight to Jacob's. Wait in the house until we all get home. Promise me." She nodded fervently, knowing this wasn't a joke.

She turned to run when I grabbed her arm. "Act human, excruciatingly so." And she walked out of the woods.

"You need to find what classes they're in, babe," Jacob said. I was grateful that he didn't use my name. Didn't need to spark any unwanted interest.

I nodded and set off for the office. Jacob promised he'd text Seth and Paul, giving them the low-down on the situation.

When I reached the administrative building, Mrs. Langely was sitting in the nurse's office, having lunch and chatting animatedly. This was almost too easy.

I entered the building and shut the door without making a sound. I pounced behind the secretary's desk and quickly rifled through the freshest files on it. Ha ha, I found it.

I pulled the packet out and read the papers greedily. I covered their names, not needing, not _wanting_ to read them; they'd only make my heart break. I mentally compared their schedules to mine, Cornelia's, and the boys'. None were playing sophomores, so Cornelia was safe. Three were playing seniors, two of which were in Paul's Spanish class. But I knew he could handle it.

Three were juniors. One, in my English class. One in my biology. I laughed mockingly to myself. _Biology. _Could it get any more ironic?

I was tempted to look at the names. To see who I had Biology with. My hand slid between the papers, ready to see the name, when the door opened.

I looked up slowly, at a human pace. Good thing, too. A platinum blond walked in with a hesitant smile and an awkward-paced step, but no heartbeat.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm not the secretary," I said, shutting the file and shoving it back in a draw. "In fact I'm not supposed to be back here."

She exhaled a laugh. "You looked a little young," she said. "What are you doing, then?"

"I was late and I was looking for the evidence," I lied swiftly.

She smirked. "If you destroy it, I won't tell anybody."

There was a moment of silence between us.

"My name's Irina," she said suddenly, stepping forward and extending her arm, holding out her hand. I looked at it, unwilling to openly welcome the intruder. But she dropped her hand suddenly, like she were shocked, remembering that humans were supposed to be averse to us.

"You're new here. Your whole family." _New_. I laughed internally at the thought. New, for the third time.

"Yes, we just moved down from Denali, Alaska," she recited. "We're all adopted. Our father, he's only 29."

"How nice, for such a young man to adopt you all," I said simply, without emotion. I didn't care if it didn't sound convincing.

"Yes, well, me and my twin brother and sister were adopted by our aunt, Esme. Her husband, Carlisle, adopted our three other siblings."

"Huh. Those are unusual names your parents have." I was blunt. I almost hoped she'd figure me out.

"Yes, well," she mumbled, unnerved. I could tell she was not used to human contact. I briefly wondered if she was from the clan in Denali, one of Tanya's sisters. But then Jacob entered the office, sending in waves of fresh air. His wolf scent mixed in and I hoped Irina wouldn't realize what it meant.

She turned to look at who entered and Jake smiled brilliantly at me; I could tell he was acting.

"There you are, babe. I've been looking all over for you. Your sister got sick at lunch, you'll need to drive her home."

I pretended to look worried. "Where is she?"

"I got her in the car, she's fine for now."

I walked over to Jacob and he hugged me and I kissed him lightly on the lips. "I'll see you later," I exhaled, looking in to his eyes.

I then left the room, leaving Irina feeling more than awkward.

When I got in the car, Cornelia was waiting. She didn't ask any questions, but I could tell her head was buzzing with them.

I parked the car and was out before the sound of the extinguished motor stopped, headed towards the woods. Cornelia followed. I knew I'd have to explain sooner or later, but I waited for Jacob to get home.

We were sitting in a clearing in the woods in silence, waiting, when we heard paws bounding our way. We waited and suddenly six wolves materialized. Jacob suddenly stood up, ignoring discretion.

"They know."

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><p>Sorry, I realized I first had Bella command Cornelia to get in the car and drive straight home, but by the end she met Cornelia in the car. My bad, I'm also just too lazy to fix it.<p> 


	6. One Hundred

"They know what?" I asked, ignoring the other five boys that just appeared where the wolves were previously. Cornelia became suddenly interested in the treetops, trying hard to ignore the naked bodies around us.

"They know you two aren't – aren't human," Jacob stuttered, not wanting to admit it.

"We can come back," Seth blurted out. "We can stay here, we're protected on the rez."

I shook my head. "I can't. I can't, I can't _think._"

"Can someone _please_ tell me what's going on?" Cornelia demanded to the trees.

I breathed slowly, deeply. It made no difference, but it helped me feel human, insignificant. Back when none of the decisions were up to me.

"I know them," I explained, looking at the ground. "Knew them," I corrected myself in an undertone.

"When did you meet them? Are they friendly?" Her voice was excitedly curious. When no one answered, she spoke again, comprehension dawning. "_Knew_ them? In – in a past life?"

I nodded slowly.

"Are one of them your maker?" she asked, the excitement flaring again.

"No." My voice was thick, full of sorrow.

"Honestly, the decision's up to you, Bella. Do we keep going to school?" Seth was excited, like Cornelia, but in a different way. He liked any tense situation, any possible threat of action.

"I need … to _think_." And I ran. I was on the shoreline, miles down from La Push. Miles from civilization.

I remembered the hole I once felt. The one I'd started to hang out with Jacob to heal. The one that never fully healed. The one I could still feel now. Like a human, I sat down, hugging my knees to my chest. I let the icy foam flow up the beach, past me. Soaking my pants and crashing up my back as it reeled back to the larger body; the water was full of thriving life, while I sat still as stone.

A hundred feet away a misplaced stone clattered along its similars, and I waited for my personal sun to rise.

"Well, I can't wipe away your tears anymore, Bells," Jacob's voice mumbled regretfully.

I couldn't even manage a smirk in response.

"They won't advance on you. Not yet. Paul heard some of their debate as they left the school. He ran in the woods along the road, trying to follow them as long as possible before he took their notice."

"What, did they, what'd they –"

"Say?" He made a face. "The new one's who ratted you out. Noticed, by your meeting with her, that something wasn't right. Then the blond guy picked up you two's scents. The new one told them how your eyes were gold, so they don't want to bother you for now."

"We'll have to 'realize' soon enough what they are."

He shrugged. "I've always wanted cousins, extended family."

I let go of the stranglehold on my legs to playfully push him. He slid ten feet away from me, against the shore.

I inhaled deeply and coughed, cutting off all breath and stiffening.

"Thanks a lot," he muttered, looking down at his arm. The cut was hidden by the blood flowing out of it. He wiped his fingers through it, making a face at the hassle I'd put him through. He was rubbing his wet fingertips together, pondering the blood, when his head jerked up to look at me, eyes wide.

I'd used my feet to propel myself backwards, leaving a trench of sand from where I'd pushed off the soft earth behind me.

My eyes were livid but my body frozen. I was hugging my waist, gripping it painfully hard, to prevent the rest of my body from moving.

"Bella, it's okay," Jake cautioned, holding up his palms. "You can do this." He took a dangerous step closer.

My eyes grew even wider; I felt like they'd pop out my head, which I shook vigorously. "Stay back," I warned with my last breath of air.

Jacob took another step. If I shook my head any more I'd give myself whiplash. He was still over twenty feet away, but I didn't want to risk it.

Then, he surprised me, he took a step near the ocean and held his hand in the surf. With the water, he washed the dried blood off his healed arm, cleaning away the evidence.

I exhaled, feeling freed from an impending fate. The smell of blood still lingered, though.

He approached me slowly and kneeled down in front of me, raising his hand as if to stroke my face. But his hand stopped. Instead of cupping my cheek he held one finger extended towards me. There was the tiniest trace of blood.

I looked at his finger, then up at his eyes, less than a foot away. He was asking me to trust him. Asking me to trust _myself_.

I gently took his hand in mine and brought it to my mouth. I sucked off the last drop, leaving his finger visibly clean. He smiled.

I coughed. "Oh, god, Jacob! You taste _horrible!_"

He laughed and fell on to the sand next to me, getting comfortable. "It's my skin. It tastes like an animal to you, doesn't it?" I nodded. "When I cut myself, the blood is fresh, regular. But when you licked it off my skin, it mixed with the dirt, the wolf."

There was silence between us. I was sure he was pondering his last words, the oddity of them. I was trying to think about nothing.

He opened his mouth and I spoke before he could finish thinking his sentence – probably.

"Jacob I really don't want to talk about it. Yet. Not yet."

"So, we'll talk about something else."

More silence. The waves continued to crash on the shore. I almost missed sitting among them, feeling natural.

"What do you want to talk about?" I asked him. He was running the back of his finger along my shoulder, down my arm. The thin cotton shirt I had on hardly stopped the feeling of warmth from his skin.

"I miss your warmth," he muttered.

I looked up at him, resting my head on my knees.

"I miss your blush. I miss your brown eyes. I-" he looked down, watching the trail his finger was making: circles, around my elbow. "I miss _us_."

I threw my hands out as I lunged towards him, to grab his shoulders firmly. But sometimes I was stronger than him. I accidentally pushed him back, in to the sand. The grains flew up around us and settled in a dust cloud as I kissed him, really _kissed_ him.

He wrapped his arms firmly around my body, hugging me. He didn't squish me, like he used to, but it admittedly hurt a bit. My hands ran up from his shoulders, pulling against the flesh of his neck where I could feel his pulse beat under my palms, and in to his hair. They knotted there, not wanting to let go.

I'd stopped breathing minutes ago, but Jacob still had the necessity to, he was still human – half the time.

He sat up, gasping.

I pouted and he raised an eyebrow as he still fought to catch his breath.

"You taste like wolf." He started barking out hysterical laughs.

As he calmed down, it was my turn. I ran the back of my fingers up and down his shin, using my other arm to hug myself. I didn't feel like I needed to hold myself together anymore. I needed to hold myself _back_.

"You make me feel like a human again, Jake," I sighed. "You remind me of all the things I forgot." I vaguely wondered if he knew what I meant, all the impulses.

"You know I sometimes wish you were still human. Or at least a wolf – best of both worlds: people and magic." He smirked.

"I don't wanna be a wolf; I don't wanna smell." He laughed. "I miss your sense of humor," I began. "You're so serious most of the time now. I miss your hair."

"That did piss you off most, when I turned."

I sighed. "If only we could go back."

"If only you could have decided this about 99 years ago." That shook me up. "Bella?" he asked, seeing the change in my expression.

"This spring. It'll be 100." One hundred years."


	7. Coexist

Well if I am all alone, what are you waiting for? _I thought. If he planned on killing me, might as well do it quickly._

"_I would be sorry, Bella," he explained, constantly getting closer. "But this is better for you, really."_

_How well he knew. If I kept on living, I'd be broken. I no longer had Jake. I had nothing. Compared to this, death was relief._

"_Victoria, she's looking for you. And if I weren't so thirsty, I'd wait for her. But …."_

"You could pierce your ears!" Jared yelled, electrified by his own ingenious.

"Yeah, find something to pierce through my skin," I mumbled, trying not to roll my eyes.

"I could do it," he challenged.

I narrowed my eyes, glaring. "Eat your muffin."

Gloatingly, he opened his mouth wide and shoved the muffin in whole, wrapper and all. I was slightly glad I didn't enjoy food anymore.

"You could dye your hair!" Seth offered.

I considered the idea. I didn't know if dyed hair looked different than regular with my new eyes.

"We could try it," I agreed.

Cornelia and I went out shopping for hair colors (a ridiculous notion.) No doubt the name Isabella Swan would sound some alarms with the Cullens, but I didn't look exactly like I did when I was human. The boys agreed that I could pretend to be my own great granddaughter. The irony of that thought killed me.

We met back at the big house. It once belonged to Emily, but we didn't like to say her name out loud. Sam stopped shifting a couple years after I turned; he and Emily grew old together. We kept her large house, set deep on the outskirts of La Push, half in the forest. It was something like our headquarters.

We had a fun day. Quil offered to be our test dummy so we dyed a blonde streak straight down the middle of his head. We were about to shave the sides, to give him a fauxhawk, when he jumped out of the chair and freaked out.

"No cuts! Are you kidding! Do you _want_ me to look like a complete tool bag when I shift?" That set the rest of the pack hysterical laughing.

"We were just thinking of your future as a male model, Quil. Really, we had your best interests at heart," Cornelia said as innocently as she could. The other guys continued to howl with laughter at the image of Quil, the shaved wolf.

We stayed home the next day because of the sun, and didn't see Quil until he got back from school. The part of his hair we dyed looked just like any other hair follicle on his head.

By nine o'clock my hair was light auburn with even lighter streaks that balanced between brown and blond. My dark, chestnut hair locks were long gone, replaced with sun-kissed waves. When I looked in the mirror, I thought this is how my hair was supposed to look when I'd moved from Phoenix.

Cornelia and I went hunting around midnight, trying to make our eyes as light as possible to convince the Cullens we were safe, to let us be. When we finished, Cornelia decided to go write the essay she had due first period.

Rather than return to Emily's, I escaped to Jacob's. The whole pack would be sleeping at Emily's and although they'd be asleep, I wanted to be alone.

When I entered the tiny red house, Jacob was still awake. His back was to me in the kitchen and he didn't turn around until I closed the front door. He made a face.

"I miss your brown hair." He echoed our earlier conversation. I smiled.

"Well isn't this what Phoenix girls are supposed to look like? I mean Cornelia's blond. But now, I look much more like I'm from the Valley of the Sun."

"Yeah, except that it looks like you don't even have a skin tone. Try tanning, that might convince him."

I scrunched my face. "I'd hit you again if I didn't want to have to smell bear."

"Ugh, _wolf_. I'm a _wolf_," he complained. "Bears smell bad even to me. At least wolves take showers." I rolled my eyes. "Ready for tomorrow?"

I shook my head. "Not at all."

First period went smoothly, although I was anxious. Second period English, Irina was in my class. I walked in as naturally as I could and sat fluidly in my seat, pretending her presence didn't bother me one bit.

My peers actually felt an aversion to me today. They shifted around more than usual. Or maybe it was the Cullens. Their presence was sure to stir a few thoughts; they weren't the most friendly looking. And the story of their odd family situation already spread like wildfire. So this was what it was like the second time 'round, right before I'd arrived in Forks so long ago.

I rose out of my seat the exact moment the bell rang and was out the door before Irina could even think how conspicuous I was.

When I left my math classroom, I stepped outside to see Jacob waiting for me. I automatically smiled.

He shook his head doubtfully. "Still not used to it," he said about my hair. I took his hand anyway, greedy for the warmth.

"Ready for lunch?" he asked, meaning more than his words conveyed.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I responded.

When we entered the cafeteria, we looked like normal high school students. We laughed effortlessly as we traipsed to our table.

They turned heads. They entered in a group and settled at the most remote table, like they used to. You'd think that the point of going to school, of acting like humans, would be to interact with them. I guess I didn't understand a lot of things about the Cullen family's decisions.

I sat with my back to their table so that while Jacob pretended to interact with Seth and the others at our table, I could listen.

"Any speculations?" I heard an all-too-familiar voice mumble.

"No, Em, we waited exactly long enough. Everyone in town is new here." It was _his_ voice. But something was off about it. The smooth velvet tone was gone. It was crinkled, disturbed. Like the velvet was brushed the wrong way.

Emmett exhaled through his teeth. "Sheesh, can you _ever_ lighten u-"

"_Stop_." There was silence.

"So, how were your second-day-of-schools?" I heard Alice's voice bubble. It hurt my still heart to hear the voice of my lost best friend.

"Some kid in my Spanish class tried to talk to me," Emmett shared. "I told him the usual story and didn't seem that scared."

"Yes, he was rather interested in getting to know us," I heard Jasper's cool, calm voice add. I wondered how his restraint was; I only had bad memories of it. "He said his name was Paul and was doing an exchange program from La Push."

"Smelled like he was from there, too," Emmett added.

I hoped they didn't think too far in to it, but the conversation ended so I wasn't sure.

The bell rang, ending lunch. Jacob walked me to class.

"You'll be okay?" he asked. There was a Cullen in Biology; we just didn't know which.

"Jake, will you please just stop asking me that? I'm _fine_. Even if I'm not, I'll _be fine_." That didn't seem to console him; his eyes were still watchful.

I sighed and stood up on to my toes to reach his mouth, gracing him with a kiss. I could feel the corners of his mouth pull up in a smile as I did so. His heart sped up but his hand remained in mine and the other limp at his side. I, too, was afraid of escalating it too much, especially in this public scene.

"See you after school," he exhaled, leaning his forehead on mine. I leaned up to peck him once more on the cheek, then went inside.

Austin Newton dared come to talk to me as the class started to settle, unperturbed by my relationship status.

"You should really sit down before Mr. Douglas starts; you don't want him to yell at you."

"Yeah, I didn't even do the homework," Austin conceded, then regretfully sat back down.

I looked down at my book and decided to draw, trying not to hate Austin any more because of his identical nature to his great-grandfather. Just as Mr. Douglas cleared his throat to start the class, the door opened and several things happened at once.

First, my pen froze, poised over the paper. Second, my eyes, not looking up, ranged the classroom and counted the backs of chairs I could see. I knew the front row was full, so the rest that were in my peripheral confirmed my suspicion: the only empty chair was next to me. Third, Mr. Douglas spoke: "Ah, yes, class. This is our new student. Edward Cullen."


	8. I'm Your ExGirlfriend's Granddaughter?

Several students mumbled "Hi" and several more broke out in excited whispers – over his designer clothes, his odd demeanor, his _looks_.

"Edward, feel free to any open seat, and class," Mr. Douglas made his voice louder, "Please open your notebooks for today's lecture." Grumbles followed his instructions and the chatter died.

I tried to force my arm to move, to continue to doodle, but it remained frozen. I held me breath as I heard footsteps echo closer, like they were the only noise in the world. Then the walker stood still for a moment before pulling out the stool next to me and sitting down fluidly.

I pretended to ignore him as I finally willed my body to move again and continue sketching. He settled himself in to place, acting human, waiting for Mr. Douglas to begin.

But the proxima broke. Gossip and whispers slowly broke out across the room like falling dominoes. Mr. Douglas sent Austin to go borrow another teacher's machine and went to review some papers on his desk while allowing the talk to continue.

"That's a very good drawing," my deskmate noted. I looked up at his face automatically. "Perfect, even," he smirked. The half smile that dawned on his face crushed me. It flipped my world upside down and turned me inside out.

"Thank you," I exhaled, putting all my effort in to looking intimidated. I knew he knew. I knew I didn't have to act human for him. But it gave me time to think. I looked down.

"My name is Edward Cullen," he persisted.

I nodded, still not looking up. "I know. Mr. Douglas said that."

"What's yours?" he asked.

I bit my lip, remembering my former habits. The, hoping he didn't notice, I quickly met his gaze again. I couldn't be too reminiscent of my former self.

"My name is Isabella Swan." I spoke fluidly, unbroken, like it was no big deal. I kept my expression light, disinterested.

His expression, however, was wavering on tortured. His eyes tightened, maddening slightly, and his mouth turned in to a firm line. There were so many questions in his eyes. I tried not to answer them.

"What, is there something wrong with my name?" I asked casually, half-laughing. I had to pretend I wasn't the Bella he knew so long ago.

He struggled for words. "Er-"

"It's okay, laugh. 'Beautiful' Swan. My mother used to call me her Ugly Duckling, just to be mean." I smiled vaguely, pretending to remember a past memory. I was nervous so I babbled, the lies coming out naturally. It helped, though.

"So where are you from, Ed?" His brow twitched at the nickname.

"I, I don't prefer Ed," he stuttered. He was still having trouble forming full sentences.

"And I don't prefer Isabella. Please, call me Bella." That struck him again, bringing some curiosity back. I needed to deter it. "So, where are you from, Ed_ward_?" I emphasized the last syllable of his name.

"Er, Denali. My family just moved from Denali. My father, Carlisle, got a job at the hospital here."

"Odd names," I mused. "What are you from like Denali circa the nineteen hundreds?" His body stiffened slightly. I was far better playing human than he was right now.

"You look nervous." I was being just a bit mean. We both knew what each other was. But I acted and talked like I was a human, even if what I said hinted otherwise. "Don't worry, everyone's nice here. I was a new student recently, too."

"When?" he asked.

"I started at the beginning of the year, actually, so there's a lot that's still new to me."

"Where did you move from?" he pressed. His eyes conveyed his desire to know. I suddenly realized that by now he'd realized he couldn't read my thoughts. A dilemma I hadn't foreseen.

"Phoenix," I said matter-of-factly. "Family trouble sent my sister and I up here. We have some family roots in Forks." I suddenly decided, then and there, that I would get him to decide I was the Bella Swan that he'd known's progeny – that it just so happened her granddaughter was turned, instead of her.

"Really?" he asked, clearly lost for any other words.

I nodded. "My mother lived in Jacksonville with my grandmother. When Grandma died, my mother decided to discover our roots in Phoenix and move there. Our father is … another story. And a couple other stories explain how we ended up here."

I could tell I lost him after the eleventh word I spoke. _Died_. He gripped the edge of his stool and bent the lip of the metal. I needed to continue talking, to add to my innocence.

"So I guess my sister and I aren't the only ones from a broken home." My tone was half-joking, half-serious – depressed.

He snapped himself out of his mental numbness. "Our story runs fast," he mumbled. "I would never say I was from a broken home. I've been with Carlisle for a long time; I know no other father than him."

"You're lucky," I sighed, looking at my fingers. I was playing with my hands, keeping up my façade. "Did you leave a lot of friends behind?" I asked.

He shrugged. "We keep in touch?"

"Long-distance type of relationship guy, I see," I joked. The pain of it was indescribable.

He shook his head. "No, I haven't had a girlfriend for a long, long time."

* * *

><p>I just realized that I didn't even mean to but "Austin" happens to be the name of a guy I used to date and still like, so when I read over this chapter again, seeing it hurt a little. Review and make me feel better! Tell me about your love lives!<p> 


	9. Finally

I didn't think I could make it through to last period. Mr. Douglas had called the class to attention right after _his_ confession. I sat in shock the whole time. I shifted my weight and crossed and uncrossed my legs just to get my mind on to something else.

_A long, long time_. Well time was insignificant to us, wasn't it? So what, he hadn't dated in five, ten years? That would make most sense. I didn't let myself think it had been since me. That was ridiculous. He left me. He left me because I was human. Maybe I'd scarred him, prevented him from dating anyone, any_thing_. I relished that thought.

Once I'd gotten home, I ran, without even explaining to Cornelia.

Half an hour later, Jake found me. I pushed him again. Except this time, it was because of true anger. He hit a tree and snapped it in half. I looked at his crumpled form for a moment in worry, but then ran further.

If that didn't say "Leave me alone," I didn't know what did.

I let myself be found again around two in the morning. I was sitting in the light surf again, moping.

"You're getting all wet," Jake's voice protested feebly.

"I like sitting here," I said, staring out over the ocean to the horizon. "It makes me feel one with nature. Like I'm not some perverse being."

"I guess that makes sense," Jacob conceded as he sat down next to me.

"I'm sorry," I sighed.

"About what?"

"Throwing you in to a tree."

He exhaled a laugh. "Apologize to the tree, Bella, not me. I think it's a bit more damaged than I am. No – I _know_ it is." I didn't quite smile, but my mouth went from a frown to a straight line.

"I know I always tell you I'm fine, and I hate when you ask," I turned to look him in the eyes. "But I don't think I am anymore. I don't know if I _can_ handle this."

Jacob was mulling something over. His gaze was thoughtful. Finally, he decided.

"Bella, I want to show you something." He stood up and held out his hand. I took it hesitantly. "Follow me."

He shifted; the scraps of his shorts and shirt floated slowly to the ground, but he was already launching himself towards the woods, running. I followed him, thinking how much I liked that shirt. It was soft, nice to run my hands over.

My sadness faded as I realized where we were headed. The path Jacob took could only lead to once place.

When I slowed in to a walk, the trees thinned in to empty meadow. Jake stood in the middle, not caring that he was nude.

My vision cut out, a flashback seen through less acute eyes blinding me for a split second, when I suddenly saw Jake again.

"Do you remember the last time you were here, Bella?" he asked. As if on cue, another muddled flash. Besides the quality of the view, the memories were bright and day, rather than the present night.

I nodded slowly, disoriented by the memories.

"I lived here, in this meadow, for three days, Bella," he said. "I did not sleep. I did not eat."

_My eyes were black. My mind was blank. Nothing existed, except the pain. And suddenly, "Bella, stay with me."_

"I did not leave your side. Not even after you …." I watched Jacob, trying to see the point he was trying to make. "I have been with you through this from the beginning. From the day he left you, I-"

"Jake," I cut him off. "Stop."

"No, Bella." He lumbered towards me. "I need to make this clear. I need you to know. I love you, Isabella Swan. I will _never_ not be by your side."

"But, imprinting-"

"To hell with imprinting, Bella! It hasn't happened to any of us yet, it's just a myth!"

"Vampires were myths. Werewolves were myths."

"_Bella_," Jacob stressed between his teeth. He closed the few feet between us, grabbing me by the wrists. "I _love_ you."

I exhaled in, then out, looking him in the eyes. "Jacob, I … I love you, too."

And I did. There was nothing more in the world I loved than Jacob. His serious demeanor melted into a heartfelt smile. He opened his mouth to speak but I threw myself at him, crashing the both of us in to the frosted earth.

I tried to be gentle, but I couldn't help myself. I dragged my fingers down his back, the top of the scratches healing by the time my fingers got to the bottom. To _his_ bottom. Running tended to put people in shape, and as I greedily grabbed on to him, I felt every muscle and tendon under his soft flesh.

I couldn't really say much about being too rough anymore – he ripped my shirt off. The pieces of it were left forgotten when he rolled us over, poising himself on top of me.

"I always knew being naked so often would come in handy one day," he breathed.

I let go of my firm grip on his cheek to smack it. He growled, but it didn't compare to his wolf growl.

"Howl for me," I _purr_ed. But I bit on to his lip before he could.

Jacob slowly lowered his body, closer to mine until we were touching. Then, we were connected. Body and soul.

I loved him, I really did.

Everyone knew something was up when we got back. Jacob did run home, after all, and who knows who was shifted at the same time. I was sure the whole pack knew but didn't say anything – just laughed behind our backs.

Cornelia was the only one who didn't notice. She was wrapped up in her own little romance I'd been pretending wasn't happening.

Not that it was much of a romance. She and Paul just flirted constantly. It was a shadow of what Jake and I were before I turned – best friends, not wanting to admit their true feelings.

I couldn't believe I'd originally wanted to discourage such a relationship between the two of them. So what if we were vampires and they were werewolves? Blacks dated whites, didn't they?

Now, Blacks dated Swans.

The problem was bigger than I realized, though. I should have learned that most myths come true, even the ones about imprinting ….

* * *

><p>Please, review!<p> 


	10. Cat and Mouse

All my worries were gone in school the next day. With Jacob all up in my head, nothing could dampen my mood. Today, I think it was me, rather than Irina, in English, who alienated our peers – my euphoric mood that was hard to keep contained must have frightened them off.

At lunch, I wrapped myself up in Jacob. But something popped my exclusive bubble. I looked up, over Jacob's shoulder to see his eyes staring back at me, penetrating me.

Unmet expectation. I knew that concentration well. I wanted to tell him he wouldn't hear anything, so stop trying. But I couldn't let go of his gaze.

"Babe?" Jacob asked, lifting his hand up to stoke my face. I leaned in to his hand's embrace, closing my eyes. But not before I saw _his_ eyes tighten, twist. Like he were tortured.

Before Biology, you could find me leaning against the building's wall, Jacob holding my hands at our waists and staring deeply in to my eyes; the world around us lay forgotten.

People filed in through the door past us, ignoring us. Except one. A sound of contempt was made in a passer-by's throat, and I glanced up to see the last sliver of _his_ back before the door swung closed behind him.

Jacob growled lightly, so I stroked his face, trying to communicate with my eyes that it was okay, that he didn't have to worry.

When I entered the classroom Edward sat haughtily at our desk, holding his head high.

Contrarily, I sat perfectly at ease, pretending everything was right with the world. I couldn't ignore his snicker, however.

"How's it up on your high horse?" he muttered under his breath at a tone no human would be able to hear.

I played with my tongue in my mouth, trying to bite back a retort. I decided that I might as well defend myself, since he knew I heard him.

"Better than in the ditch you've dug yourself," I responded, keeping my eyes on the blackboard.

He turned his whole face to me, a ludicrous expression on it. He didn't think I'd be the first to break the act.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I think you do." I finally turned to look at him, and he half-turned away. "Why do you hate me?" I demanded putting a fierce edge in my voice.

He seemed slightly dumb-founded. "_Hate_ you? I don't _hate_ you." His voice was almost pleading. It worried me.

"Sure act like it. You don't like me or my boyfriend."

He snorted. "Boyfriend." He mulled the word over, like he'd never heard it before. "How long have you been dating?" he asked.

"Since September," I answered easily. It _was_ true. "He and some of his friends are from La Push, doing a –"

"A cultural exchange program, I've heard," he finished. He seemed like he was sulking at my effortless answers. "Do you visit him often?" he asked suddenly. The treaty clearly entered his mind then and his face said he knew I was caught in my lie.

Despite the personal nature of the question, I answered with a big smile. "All the time." His face fell in to disbelief. "I'd invite you to hang out with us, if we were friends."

He turned stoic. "I think it would be better if we weren't … weren't-"

"Weren't friends." I finished the sentence this time. Our game of cat and mouse just ended. "I've heard _that_ before." But our eyes met and there was silent communication between us. He was trying to figure out if I was more than what he thought. He knew I was a vampire, a peer in more ways than any of the fragile bodies among us. But was I more, was I a long lost acquaintance?

Just then Mr. Douglas yelled out to catch the class' attention, making nearly everyone jump.

I laid my head down in my folded arms on my desk as he began speaking. I can't believe I'd come that close to _truly_ revealing myself. I'd have to make amends.

The rest of the week we didn't talk. We sat side by side silently, every day. I told Jake and the pack about my slip-up. We all worked extra hard to dissuade their theory that I was the Bella Swan they knew long ago.

On the second Thursday that they were at school, Mr. Douglas introduced a new project for the class. Rather than doing a school-wide science fair, he was letting his classes off by assigning a take-home lab collection to be completed with a partner. I breathed easier when he gave us the option of picking our partners.

As his presentation came to an end, Austin was twisting in his chair up front, trying to catch my eye. Of _course_ he'd want to work with me. But he was my best bet for a partner in this class, anyway.

As Mr. Douglas began to release us to choose partners, babble already erupting among the class, a swift voice cut my relief of working with Austin.

"Would you like to be my partner?" Edward asked.

I looked up at him, my eyes slightly widened. "Me?" I asked, incredulous. He nodded.

Before I responded, Mr. Douglas came up to us with a clipboard, in the middle of recording pairs for the project.

"Mr. Cullen, did you find a partner?"

Edward turned towards the teacher, putting his back to me, and nodded. "Miss Swan agreed to work with me."

Mr. Douglas walked away without looking up, writing on his clipboard, and therefore didn't see my floored expression. Edward turned to face forward again but didn't look back at me. I was frozen.

"You could come over my house tomorrow, to work on the project," he said quietly.

"Thanks, but I think I can do this on my own," I sneered, standing before the bell actually rung. I was out the door before anyone else left their seats.

Jacob was across campus. It would be hard to find my personal sun and not be late to class. I weighed my options, when I heard my name being called. Luckily, it was only Cornelia.

"Hey, Bella, I was texting Paul, and –" she stopped talking and just showed me the screen of her phone. He had talked to Emmett and Jasper in Spanish, again, and something they said made him think they might know that him and the other guys were werewolves; he was going to try and follow them, listening to their conversation in the car home.

I nodded. "Okay." She opened her mouth to say something else but stopped, looking surprised. Brow furrowed, I turned to follow her line of sight, wondering what she saw.

I jumped back a foot; Edward was standing right behind me.

"Don't do that, I didn't hear you coming." He made a face like he didn't believe me, but said nothing. Like a human, I cleared my throat. "Edward," I grumbled his name. "This is my sister, Cornelia. Cornelia, this is Edward Cullen, one of the new students."

She smiled politely, but didn't say anything. She'd never actually met another vampire besides myself.

"I'll see you after school," I said to her, then walked away from the both of them. I heard Edward groan to himself and then jogged to my side, automatically matching my fast stride.

"I think it would be better to work on this project together," he insisted.

"And I thought we shouldn't be friends," I retorted.

He ignored that. "I can't do this project alone, and –"

I turned to face him so that he had to stop short to prevent walking into me. "I think we both know you can handle this project perfectly fine, Edward." It amazed me how it no longer hurt to say his name, especially with a negative connotation. "So please, leave me be."

"You don't seem to get along with your peers well," he noted, still pretending to be human.

I shrugged. "I'm old for my age," I said sarcastically.

"How old?" he breathed, suddenly serious.

I narrowed my eyes. "Old enough." And walked away.

I wouldn't let him get answers out of me. I wouldn't be the first to spill all my secrets, I promised myself.

In gym last period I wasn't paying attention, allowing myself to get hit with a volleyball several times. I was anxious to get home and hear Paul's report on what the Cullens said on their way home.

I was finding myself obsessed, wrapped up in their existence. It was like it was 100 years ago all over again. Like the first time I'd joined Forks High.


	11. Coping with Edward

We really dodged a bullet. Emmett and Jasper didn't express any belief that the boys were wolves. They did tease Edward about biology. Paul said that Emmett's exact words were, "Dude if she turns out to actually be the Bella we know, that's fucked up. Even if she's not, and she's like a relative, that's even more fucked up."

The pack was on yellow alert. They were keeping the Cullens' paths in check, making sure none of the family was stepping out of bounds in regards to the treaty. The wolves had an all-night watch going on their house, keeping tabs on their hunting grounds.

This greatly diminished my time with Jacob. One night, when he and Paul were both on watch duty, Cornelia and I were left lonely.

I insisted we hunted, just for something to do. But three am found us lounging among snowy peaks of the nearby mountains. I always enjoyed playing in snow as a vampire. Especially since I was no longer susceptible to accidents while walking through it, I could marvel at snow for hours.

"You know I used to be clumsy," I mused aloud while observing a pretty speck of ice that floated down on to a rock.

Cornelia sat up immediately from the heap of snow she was laying in. "Really?" she asked, curiosity peaked. She loved any form of my reminiscing.

I nodded. "I went to the E.R. at least once a month because I was always hurting myself. They knew me – the nurses and secretaries."

Cornelia giggled. "That's sad." I nodded in agreement and reflected on my past. "Tell me more," her soft voice begged. She knew I wasn't keen on talking, and was afraid she'd upset me by asking.

I sighed audibly. Without giving her any advance notice, I began.

"On one of my first days at a new school, it snowed horribly. My dad put snow chains on my truck's wheels but I was still careful driving, not wanting to cause an accident. That didn't last long, though," I laughed. "I got out of my car to look at the snow chains and another car came screeching at me, almost hitting and killing me then and there."

She hung her mouth open in awe. Everyday words like "dad" and "careful driving" and "almost … killing me" shocked her. Her expression begged for more.

"How'd you manage to not get hit?" Any question. _Any_ question but that.

"A friend pulled me out of the way," I evaded.

"Do you ever miss your friends?" Her tone was uncertain on the last word. Because Cornelia had no memory of her human life, everything always seemed new and exciting to her.

I shrugged. "Sometimes. But there are people around me who remind me of them," my mind automatically flew to Austin Newton, "and sometimes I don't want to remember them," my mind flew to someone else.

"Who was he?" she suddenly asked, taking me off guard. I glowered at her, but she didn't back down.

"No one," I replied hastily, physically turning away from her.

I stared grumpily at the sheer cliff face in front of me as minutes passed by. I was glad she'd given up her assault.

"Is he one of the others – one of the Cullens?" The rock I was resting on cracked beneath me; I didn't realize I had been gripping it in my hands, which ended up breaking it apart.

"Which one?" she pressed. When I didn't answer, she guessed. "Well they're all paired up, of course. It's so _obvious_. But one of the girls wasn't there before, were they? Alice or Rosalie or Irina?" She shot out the names like they didn't mean anything in the world. "Which one took the boy that used to belong to you?"

I refused to respond. It's what she wanted. "I'll find out sooner or later," she said simply. "Paul will tell me."

I was suddenly in her face, my rage leaking out of every pore. "You will not asking him anything," I commanded. My anger was slightly unnecessary. Paul wasn't the vault of information. If Cornelia wanted answers, she'd have to go to Jake.

"If you just tell me I wouldn't have to ask," she said innocently, not even flinching from my expression.

"It doesn't matter, there's nothing between us," I spat.

"Nothing between …" she trailed off, hoping I'd fill in the blank.

Before I could try and exhibit why she shouldn't make me angrier, my pocket vibrated. I slid the cell phone out of my pocket to see an unknown number on the front screen. I slipped it open to reveal a text message reading, _We really need to get this project done. You're coming over my house after school today_.

I stared at the message, incredulous.

Cornelia took advantage of my shock to peer up on to the screen. "Who's that from?" she asked.

I snapped the phone closed. "A kid from school," I muttered.

"Which? Austin? He's in _love_ with you," she giggled. I groaned.

Jake was dead on his feet at school. I tried to convince him to lighten up on the watch, knowing I was the only person threatened by their reappearance, but he wouldn't listen.

At lunch I had had enough of his fake ignorance and I got up to leave the cafeteria. I'd stormed out in to the rain and noticed I didn't hear the door slam behind me. That's when I heard the footsteps, followed by "Bella!"

I groaned as I stood in the steady rain, my hood up over my head while I faced the empty parking lot, arms crossed.

"Hey Bella, wait up!" his voice called unnecessarily; I hadn't moved. "You're getting soaked," he stated the obvious.

"What do you want, Edward?" I asked, not looking at him but seeing his dark shape in my peripheral.

"I wanted to apologize." I didn't respond, so he continued. "I hope my text message didn't wake you." He did a poor job of hiding the laugh in his voice.

"Didn't," I promised him. "Don't sleep." I sneaked a quick glance at his face and his mouth was turned down in a frown; I wasn't playing his game.

"Do you want to step out of the rain?" he asked. "My car is-"

"Not a place I should be," I said in a monotone. I didn't want to befriend him.

"Right," he mumbled, almost too low for me to hear. "Boyfriend." I scoffed at his musings. He looked at me confusedly but I didn't elaborate. Jake was hardly the problem.

"Listen, I know you don't like me, but I really would like to get this project done," he said, his voice almost pleading.

"Should have picked a better partner, then," I shrugged.

"Bella," he sighed, begging. My heart clenched and I suddenly felt like there was a squirmy lump in my throat that was threatening to come back up. Sometimes I hated bringing back my human side, especially during moments like this. It was the same way he said my name time and time again in my first life. Except magnified. The beauty was a hundred times as great with my new ears.

"Yes?" I asked desperately, beside myself. Emotion poured out of my eyes as I looked at him, waiting for him to speak. His expression tightened, unsure of where my feelings came from.

"If you won't come over my house, perhaps we could go out somewhere? In public?" he asked. I didn't answer. My mouth creased slightly but he seemed to take that as an _Okay_. "After school, then?" he asked, then walked away without another word.


End file.
